After exhaustive searching, I've determined that the 2000 Tacoma is the black sheep of the first generation Tacoma when it comes to light bars.

KC has a universal light bar that should work, but I'd prefer not to drill holes and "stick" a bar on the bumper. I might as well use black duct tape. KC just recently released this light bar according to its website, so information is sparce at the moment.

Options:

Custom light bar. I have zero welding experience, so I'd have to hope to find somebody that would do a great job and have extreme attentiveness to details. This is obviously a crap shot.

Defiant light bar - shorty with the 2/3 light mounts looks great and is exactly what I want, but wow, talk about $$$$!

Light behind the grille - this is the option I'm currently exploring. I'd have to change out my OEM grille for something, just not sure what the something would be. Anybody done this on a 2000?

The 2000 still has a steel bumper, right? My last two trucks I mounted two off road lights directly through the bumper. It worked great. If needed, you can bolt two pieces of flat bar through the bumper first, then mount the lights to that.

Yeah, that's looking more and more like my only recourse. Of course, I'm not a welder so I'd have to find somebody to do that for me, and I'm not against that, I was just hoping that somebody would know of a somewhat price effective aftermarket part that I could just bolt on. This is probably going to end up as a custom fabrication job.

Of course, I'm not a welder so I'd have to find somebody to do that for me,

Thanks for the response, though!

Click to expand...

I don't see why you'd need to weld. I had two 8 inch lights on my 86 Toyota. All I did was drill two holes in the bumper and bolt two 3-4 inch pieces of steel flatbar to the top of the bumper. I used a hacksaw to cut the flat bar and rounded the edges with a file. Drilled another hole in the end of each piece of flatbar and mounted the lights through that. The only reason I needed the flatbar was to extend the lights out away from the grille for clearance.

On my 95 Dakota I mounted Hella 500s directly through the bumper. Drilled two holes, reached under the bumper to tighten the bolts.

In both cases I thought it looked really clean compared to a crazy looking lightbar. I wish I could do that to my 2006, but the bumper is plastic.

I don't see why you'd need to weld. I had two 8 inch lights on my 86 Toyota. All I did was drill two holes in the bumper and bolt two 3-4 inch pieces of steel flatbar to the top of the bumper. I used a hacksaw to cut the flat bar and rounded the edges with a file. Drilled another hole in the end of each piece of flatbar and mounted the lights through that.

On my 95 Dakota I mounted Hella 500s directly through the bumper. Drilled two holes, reached under the bumper to tighten the bolts.

In both cases I thought it looked really clean compared to a crazy looking lightbar. I wish I could do that to my 2006, but the bumper is plastic.

Click to expand...

...ah, now I get what you're saying! Hadn't thought of doing that! Thanks for the idea!

deckplate is on the list among other things too but suspension lift is first for me. i'm actually in the process of making a light bar but it only gets worked on when i go home, don't have the right tools where i am now